Most data communications networks today rely heavily on shared-media, packet-based LAN technologies for both access and backbone connections. These networks use bridges and routers to connect multiple LANs into global internets.
A router-based, shared-media network cannot provide the high bandwidth and quality of service required by the latest networking applications and new faster workstations. For example, multimedia and full-motion video applications consume large amounts of bandwidth and require real-time delivery. Another high bandwidth application involves transmission of X-ray and other diagnostic information to enable doctors in different locations to consult while accessing the same patient information. Yet another application is “collaborative” engineering, i.e., allowing multiple engineers to work on the same project simultaneously while at different geographic locations. Thus, networks once used primarily for sending text files and E-mail or sharing common databases, are now being pushed to their limits as more users push more data across them.
One way to provide additional bandwidth on a given network segment is with larger shared-media pipes, such as FDDI or Fast Ethernet; however, this does not enable the application of policy or restricted access to the enhanced network resources. Alternatively, a network can be further segmented with additional router or bridge ports; however, this increases the cost of the network and the complexity of its management and configuration.
Switched networking is a proposed solution intended to provide additional bandwidth and quality of service. In such networks, the physical routers and hubs are replaced by switches and a management system is optionally provided for monitoring the configuration of the switches. The overall goal is to provide a scalable high-performance network where all links between switches can be used concurrently for connections.
One proposal is to establish a VLAN switch domain—a VLAN is a “logical” or “virtual” LAN in which users appear to be on the same physical (or extended) LAN segment, even though they may be geographically separated. However, many VLAN implementations restrict VLAN assignments to ports, rather than end systems, which limits the effectiveness of the VLAN groupings. Other limitations of existing VLAN implementations include excessive broadcast traffic (which consume both network bandwidth and end system CPU bandwidth), disallowing transmissions out multiple ports, hop-by-hop switching determinations, and requiring multi-protocol routers to enable transmission between separate VLANs. Another problem with many VLAN switched networks is that although they allow a meshed topology, none of the redundant links can be active at the same time. Generally, the active links are determined by a spanning tree algorithm which finds one loop-free tree-based path through the network. Unfortunately, any links or nodes not in the active tree path are placed in standby.
Thus, there are numerous limitations with many prior switched communications networks.